Torn Apart and Pieced Together
by FromTheDepthOfMyMind
Summary: They both think that they have moved on from the events at Regionals... but have they? St. Berry fic! Read and Review!
1. Arizona

"Rachel! Rachel come back here right now!" Hiram Berry shouted at his daughter.

"What is it Dad?" Rachel Berry asked frantically.

"We need to hug you one more time!" Leroy Berry, Hiram's partner cried.

"Aww Dad, Daddy!" She hugged them quickly before running off again. "I have to go! I'm gonna miss my flight! Love You!"

When she ran got through security and disappeared from view, Hiram pressed his face into Leroy's shoulder and started sniffling.

"It's okay, hun. She's following her dreams, she'll be fine" Leroy assured him.

* * *

><p>Once Rachel got onto the plane, she practically started jumping in excitement. She was going to be on an ACTUAL album for an ACTUAL corporation and would be sold to ACTUAL people! Of course she would still have to audition, but she knew that would be simple, she was Rachel Berry!<p>

Rachel was on her way to Phoenix, Arizona to audition for the soundtrack of the Music for the Children Foundation! A corporation that funded music programs in schools that could no longer afford them, and once a year they recorded an album that would be sold in hundreds of stores around the country. Rachel had been able to convince her fathers so that she could go to Phoenix to audition, and hopefully record! Since Hiram's brother lived in Phoenix, they had little to object towards and capitulated once Rachel started pouting.

It takes 3 hours for the flight to get from Columbus to Phoenix, so she had some time to relax before the hassle of searching for her uncle in the airport. Knowing Uncle John, he would have walked off to look at some pictures while he waited, absent mindedly whistling show tunes to himself (it runs in the family). She loved her uncle, but he could be careless sometimes.

She had been on planes several times before this, but never without her fathers. She felt suddenly wistful when her ears popped, remembering how Hiram would always give her some gum to chew beforehand, and would comfort her when her ears _did_ pop. Not wanting to feel homesick, she took out her iPod and turned on her Barbra Streisand playlist, and took out the book she was currently reading, _Les Miserables. _They time went by quickly and before she knew it, the captain announced that they would be landing soon and that the passengers should put on their seatbelts.

She gripped the side of the chair, something that was instinctual to her, and when she felt the wheels touch the ground of the runway she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She stretched her legs and stepped off the plane, searching for her uncle in the crowd of tourists and returning Phoenix residents that surrounded her.

She spotted him towards the back of the room, admiring a mural of a cactus that decorated the wall. She picked up her bags and ran towards him.

"Uncle John!" she shouted towards him.

"Hey Rachel! It's so awesome to have you here!" he said, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm so happy to see you Uncle John, I haven't seen you since 2 birthdays ago!" she said.

"Really? That long?" he asked. "Well, you should probably call you dads and tell them that you got here safely.

She pulled out her cellphone and dialed her Daddy number.

He picked up on the first ring, Rachel grinned at that. Surely her daddy had been waiting for her to call for a while.

"Hey daddy!" she said happily.

"Rachel? Leroy, Leroy! It's Rachel!" Hiram shouted away from the phone.

"Hey Rachel! We miss you!" she heard Leroy shout in the background.

"I got to Phoenix fine, just wanted to let you know and tell you that I miss you already!" Rachel said to her father.

"We miss you too Rachel!" Hiram cried.

"Daddy, I have to go now! Do you want to talk to Uncle John?" Rachel said, knowing that he wouldn't.

"Um… no. Well, I have to get to the hospital now, okay! We love you!" Hiram said quickly.

"Love you too Daddy!"

She hung up the phone and decided to send a text message to Finn.

_Hey, just landed in Phoenix! Miss You! –R_

When she didn't get a reply, she put her arm through her Uncle's, and walked out into the sweltering Phoenix air.

* * *

><p>By the time they got to John's apartment, the sun was already setting and the temperature had gone from blistering heat to a bearable coolness. John showed her to her room and she unpacked her things. She would be staying for a month; she had brought several different outfits that she had bought in Columbus with Tina, the only member of the glee club who didn't have a problem with Rachel. She tried on some of the dresses and chose out a cut black one that went just above her knees to wear to her audition.<p>

She checked her phone again, still no reply from Finn. It slightly angered her that Finn didn't reply to her message; not like he answered a lot of them anyways but he should care about this because this was important to her. He wouldn't be seeing her for a month and he didn't even seem to notice when she told him. Just the usual 'head nod' and 'wait, what?' and she would have to repeat it to him all over again! They have been going out for 2 months already, there was the kiss at regionals and the went on some dates in the beginning of the summer, but then they both started to get busy and Finn seemed to care less and less about what she had to say. Just now, in that moment, she hated Finn Hudson.

She couldn't dwell on that though, she had her audition tomorrow! She needed to practice! There were bound to be plenty of performers lined up to be auditioning, from all over the country! And she needed to out-shine them all!

**Hey guys! This is my first Glee fanfiction! I hope you guys like it, I promise the story will get better! Please Review! Don't be afraid to be honest! :^D**


	2. Auditions

The next day, John called in a taxi to take Rachel to the Gammage Auditorium, where the auditions would take place. The parking lot was pretty crowded, and after she paid the taxi driver, she walked in to find _a lot _of people waiting on line. She looked around and saw people singing, people attempting to sing, people laughing, and people crying. Judging by the looks on the faces of the people leaving, the people judging the potential artists were not very concerned about their feelings. There were three lines each with different numbers of people. The line on the right had a sign next to it that read _High School Students_, a very long line that contained several scared looking teenagers with their parents cheering them on from the waiting area. The line next to it read _College Students_, which was the longest line of the trio. Then the last line read _Instrumental Auditions_, which musicians and their owners were cluttering their way into the designated room, quite quickly!

She instantly got butterflies in her stomach and signed her name to a long signup sheet and moved to the line designated for high school students. In front of her, a short girl with blonde and choppy hair was staring at a girl who had ran out of the 'High School' room in tears. Her eyebrows furrowed and Rachel saw a look on her face that she knew well… pity.

"Oh my God…" Rachel said to herself.

"Yeah, I know right." The girl said. "I know that girl! She goes to a private school in my area!"

"Well, was she good?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"She was okay, I guess. I think she was in a show coir for ugh… whats the name again? Oh yeah! Crawford County Day School!"

"Crawford County Day School- You're from Ohio?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"Yeah! Are you?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm from Lima." Rachel answered, relieved that she was not the only one from small towns in Ohio.

"Oh! I'm from Carmel!" she answered happily.

Rachel's eyes widened. Carmel? Did she hear her right? That means that she went to _his_ school, well now his old school.

"Carmel?" Rachel said, taking a step back. "So you're in Vocal Adrenaline?"

"Ugh! Hell no!" The girl answered incredulously. "Those robots? I would rather die an old smelly homeless person than be one of _them_"

Rachel was starting to like this girl. The smiled at her, relieved that she wasn't speaking to the enemy.

"By the way, I'm Lisa, Lisa DeTamble" she said, extending her hand.

"I'm Rachel Berry!" Rachel replied, shaking her hand.

The two chatted away on the long line while watching crying and celebrating people run out from the audition room. Apparently, Lisa was going to be a junior in the fall, just like Rachel, and she desperately wanted to get out of Ohio and off to some big city to become a star. Rachel grinned, so many people she knew shared that exact same goal, herself included. They talked about their idols (Rachel's being Barbra Streisand, and Lisa's being Liza Minnelli) and their favorite musicals. Lisa said that she planned

Soon enough, there was only about 10 people in front of them.

"Holy crap! This is getting intense." Lisa stated as a girl vomited in a trash can after running out of the _College_ room.

"I guess some people aren't prepared for show business." Rachel said sadly.

"Yeah…" Lisa trailed off.

"So what are you performing?" Rachel said, attempting to change the subject.

"I was thinking, 'Maybe This Time' from Cabaret" Lisa said, eager to share. "How about you?"

"I'm sure you'll do great! I'm doing 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion." Rachel said back.

"Oh! That'll be impressive!" Lisa complimented.

Rachel grinned; she had been waiting to perform this for a while and she was happy to have some support on her song choice.

"Oh my god it's my turn next!" Lisa jumped.

"Trust me, you're gonna be great!" Rachel encouraged her.

"Aww thank you!" Lisa gushed, and she pulled Rachel into a tight hug.

Rachel smiled. She wasn't used to being treated like this around people her age… Usually it was slushy facials or heart wrenching comments. But Lisa treated her like a normal person, a friend.

As Rachel saw Lisa walk into the door, she crossed her fingers and hoped that her new friend would do great.

After a while, Lisa walked out happy and jumping.

"Rachel! I did it! I got in!" she gushed.

"Oh my god Lisa! I'm so happy for you!" Rachel said to her.

"I'll wait for you Rachel! Break a leg!"

* * *

><p>As Rachel walked into the room, the butterflies in her stomach increased. The stage was huge and gorgeous, the stage lights were on, and no one was there. The only thing that was in the room was a lone microphone on the stage.<p>

Rachel walked up the steps onto the stage and stood directly in front of the microphone. She looked into the empty rows of seats and saw that _no one_ was there. After a few minutes, it was clear that they weren't gone to the bathroom or something so she did what she usually did when she got nervous. Sing.

She opened her mouth, closed her eyes, and heard the music in her mind.

_Every night in my dreams, I see you. I feel you. _

_That is how I know you go on…_

As she sang, her heart ached. In her mind, she wanted to think about Finn when she sang this. But she couldn't. Though she could feel as if she was singing to someone in her heart, she just didn't know who. She didn't mind that fact and continued to sing the song to the best of her abilities.

After she hit the final note perfectly, she saw three men step out from a door in the back of the room, clapping.

"That was, by far, the _best_ performance I have seen all day!" A tall man with glasses said to her encouragingly.

"That is talent! Almost as good as Celine herself!" A younger man with messy blonde hair said to his companions.

"What's your name kid?" A man with sunglasses and a jacket said to her from farther behind the other two.

"Rachel Berry, sir!" she said into the microphone.

"Ohio right?" he said, checking a clipboard.

"Yes sir," she said hesitantly. "Lima."

"Hmm… you've got talent kid, a lot more than some of the other chumps I've seen today. You're in!" the sunglasses guy said.

"Thank you so much Mr…"

"Pierce. Jackson Pierce." The man said to her. "My uncle is the owner of the Music for the Children foundation. And since I'm into music, it's my job to make sure that the 25 best artists in this place are on this CD."

"My name is Jason Anderson, I'm the director." The young, blonde man said.

"And I'm Richard Blaze. I make sure we don't get sued." The tall man said.

"It's nice to meet you." Rachel said, smiling.

"We want you here on Tuesday. 2 o'clock sharp." Jackson told her.

"I'll be there, sir!" Rachel said, about to explode.

"We can't wait to hear you again Miss Berry!" Richard said.

"Goodbye!" said Jason, after handing her a yellow paper.

* * *

><p>Rachel burst out of the room, looking for Lisa.<p>

She found her over by the water fountain, and she showed her the paper that Jason had given her.

Lisa squealed and threw her arms around Rachel.

"Oh my god Rachel! I can't believe we both got in! This is gonna be great!" she said, excitedly.

"I know right! We're both gonna be on the CD!" Rachel said, just as happily.

A couple of kids walked out from the College room and ran over to Lisa happily.

"Lisa! I got in too!" a tall boy with dark hair said to Lisa. Then he grabbed her and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss.

Rachel felt a twinge of disappointment at this. She wished Finn were here to congratulate her on her successful audition. But he wasn't. He probably wouldn't get it anyways…

"Get a room!" another boy yelled playfully.

"You guy's gonna come up for air any time soon?" a girl asked sarcastically.

Lisa and her friend pulled apart, laughing.

"You guys are just jealous." Lisa teased facetiously.

"Yeah I guess we are," the girl laughed. "Who's your friend Lisa?"

"Oh, guys this is Rachel Berry from Lima!" Lisa answered.

"Rachel this is Nick, my boyfriend, but I guess that's sort of obvious though." She giggled.

"It's awesome to see another person from Ohio here, Lisa and I thought we would be the only ones." Nick said to Rachel.

"Oh, are you from Carmel too?" Rachel asked lightly.

"No, Akron." Nick answered.

"Yep!" Lisa bubbled.

"I'm Margot." The girl next to Nick said.

"It's nice to meet you. So, you're not from Ohio?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Well I guess you can say that, I moved away two years ago to Pennsylvania but I stop by a lot." Margot said, dismissively.

"Yeah, and I'm Chris. I go to Tisch with Margot and Nick." The other boy said.

"And you guys all got in?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"No, we have another friend, Kate, who didn't get in." Chris said sadly.

Lisa gasped. Clearly she didn't know this.

"Oh no! Katie didn't get in?" she asked.

"Yeah, she left though. She said she was going back to New York as soon as possible. We couldn't stop her. The judges were pretty cool though so I don't get why she was so upset." Nick answered her.

They stood awkwardly for a moment until Lisa changed the subject.

"So… we were gonna go get something to eat, do you wanna come?" Lisa asked.

"Sure! That sounds great; I just have to call my Uncle first." Rachel said quickly.

After she got her Uncle's approval, the group walked out into the parking lot and walked over to a decently sized black car that was at the end of the parking lot.

Rachel suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching her. But she shook it off as her new friends decided to start up a conversation about where they planned to eat.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, they exchanged numbers, and dropped Rachel off at her Uncle's apartment. They waited for her to call them from upstairs before they left.<p>

Rachel told her Uncle about her victory and he seemed genuinely happy. He was busy with a new painting so she went into her room so she could call her dads.

Her dads didn't answer their cell phones or the house phone, so she left a detailed account of her day on their voicemails.

After contemplating for a few minutes, Rachel decided to call Finn.

She dialed his number quickly (she had memorized it), and pressed send.

He picked up on the fourth ring.

"Uh, hello?" Finn said on the other end.

"Hey Finn, it's Rachel!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Oh, hey Rachel…" he said dismissively. "How's Nebraska?"

"I'm in Phoenix, Finn." Rachel said coolly.

"Right, right. Isn't that in Nebraska?" Finn asked.

"No, it's in Arizona Finn. Anyways, I had my auditions today! And… I got in!" she practically shouted.

"Oh… great! Is that it?" he asked.

"Is that it- yeah… I guess so." She said, quietly.

"Okay, well I have to go now. I made plans with Mike and Puck." He said.

"Oh, okay. Bye!" Rachel said sadly.

"I miss you!" she added on before he hung up.

She felt a crushing disappointment at this. Finn didn't understand any of this. He didn't even care!

She wished he would notice; kiss her like Nick had kissed Lisa, or at least pretended like he gave a damn.

_He _would care. Rachel thought to herself before climbing into bed.

Only a person like_ him_ would be able to care, no one understood her like _he_ did. And Finn was no exception.

**Hey guys! I guess you guys can guess who "he" is. PLEASE REVIEW! I need opinions!**


	3. Shopping

The next morning, Rachel awoke to the smell of French toast. Luckily her fathers had sent the recipe for _vegan_ French toast, so Rachel wouldn't have to worry about living off of breakfast bars for the next month.

She opened her cell phone and discovered three unread messages from her friends!

_Hey Rachel! Do you want to go shopping with Margot and me at around 2? –Lisa_

_Hey Rachel! Just making sure if you're gonna go shopping with me and Lisa! –Margot_

_What's up Berry? –Tina_

Rachel sent a text to both Margot and Lisa, accepting their invitation to go shopping. Then she told Tina about her successful audition and how she would be returning to the Gammage auditorium on Tuesday, only 2 days from now!

After she finished up her morning routine, she joined her Uncle in the kitchen for some breakfast. She hesitantly took a bite of the French toast and was delighted that it tasted almost identical to the one that her father made for her.

At seeing her approving expression, John decided to start up a conversation.

"So… what do you plan on doing here for the next month besides working on the CD?" he asked lightly, grabbing a slice of toast.

"Well, I was just about to bring that up. Some of the people from the auditions yesterday invited me to go shopping with them. I told them that I could, is that okay?" Rachel replied.

"Oh, yeah that's fine. I was planning to work on my painting all day today and I didn't want you to sit around bored." John said, relieved.

"Yeah, were gonna meet up at that Starbucks a couple blocks from here around 2," Rachel said to her uncle. "Which is in an hour so I better get ready!"

"Okay, well have fun! I'll be here if you need me." He reminded her.

Rachel ran into her room and chose out a cute skirt, a tank top, and a matching necklace to wear. Then she grabbed her credit card that her dads had given to her for whenever they weren't around and she needed to get something.

Glancing at the clock, she realized that she still had about 15 minutes left and she hurried out into the kitchen.

"Uncle John! I'm leaving now!" Rachel shouted towards his 'studio.'

"Kay! Have fun Rachel!" she heard him shout from the other side.

Rachel walked outside into the bright sunlight that covered every inch of the street. As she walked down the street, she got that same feeling that she had felt the day before, like someone was watching her.

She looked behind her but no one was there, and the next groups of people walking on the sidewalk were very far ahead of where she was walking. She figured that she was just paranoid and continued down the road.

She turned the corner and walked into Starbucks. It was air conditioned in there so it was a relief walking inside on this particularly hot day. Lisa and Margot weren't in there yet and the line for drinks was pretty long, so she decided to save some time and get on line.

A few minutes later, they walked inside arm in arm chattering amongst themselves. Rachel waved them over and they scurried on over.

"Hey Rachel!" Lisa bubbled.

"Hey Lisa, hey Margot!" Rachel replied.

"Hey Berry!"

After getting their coffees (cold of course) they sat down at a table in the back and chatted about their song choices for the CD.

Then, after hearing a _hilarious_ story from Margot, which nearly caused Rachel to cough up her coffee, they headed out to go shopping at the Biltmore Fashion Park.

* * *

><p>Lisa and Margot, who were far more experienced in choosing out clothes, found dozens of adorable outfits that weren't expensive at all. Rachel chatted non-stop about her life in Lima and the two girls couldn't seem more interested. They listened patiently to Rachel's babbles and inserted a word or two of advice when Rachel confessed the whole Finn situation. She told them about every member of New Directions, Mr. Shue, and Ms. Sylvester. They gasped at some of the stories about Sue, though Rachel only told them what had happened to other people, she would rather keep her dignity for the time being while talking to her new friends. She didn't mention <em>him<em> though, because they probably knew already and were decent enough people not to bring it up.

They decided to meet up with the guys at an awesome vegan restaurant (surprisingly Margot was a vegan too) and after hours of laughs, stories, and Finn impersonations… Rachel started thinking that she never wanted to go back to the horrible place known as Lima Ohio. People didn't understand her there, she wasn't appreciated for her talent! But of course, she couldn't leave! She built that glee club from scratch and she wouldn't let it down… couldn't.

So after a while, after spending an awesome night in town having the time of her life, Rachel decided it was time to head home since the time was creeping closer and closer to 1 o'clock. A time that surely would mean a lecture from her fathers at home and… who knows what with Uncle John.

"Hey guys, it's getting pretty late and I'm gonna head home." Rachel told the group.

"Aww, Rachel! Do you have to?" asked Nick, while holding Lisa's hand.

"Yeah, I'm soo tired from all this walking around." Rachel said.

"Well okay?" Margot said.

"Do you want us to walk you back to your Uncle's apartment?" Lisa asked.

"No, I'm fine. It's not that far from here anyways."

"Okay, well if you're sure Rachel. Bye!" Lisa said, hugging Rachel.

Margot joined in and when they pulled away Chris pulled Rachel into a one-armed hug.

"Night Berry! See ya on Tuesday if we don't see you tomorrow." He said, while playfully ruffling her hair.

Rachel laughed and started walking in the opposite direction with a huge smile on her face.

* * *

><p>As she walked down the street... for the <em>third<em> time in the past few days, she had the feeling that somebody was watching her!

Little did she know, that she was right.

**Hey, I know this chapter is pretty short but I'm writing the next one RIGHT NOW! I felt that before I really get the story in motion, which it will I assure you, I need you guys to see how Rachel lives her life. So, every now and then their will probably be pointless chapters such as this. So... I want to thank you guys for the reviews and for those of you who didn't review, you're still awesome but try to review this time! And just a heads up, you guys probably know who's gonna be in the next chapter ;)**


	4. Seeing Her

He had seen her.

Jesse St. James had just strolled confidently out of the audition room designated for college students when he had seen Rachel Berry standing with a group of people, with a strange expression on her face.

Rachel Berry, the girl he had dated last year. The girl he used to care so much about. The girl he might have…

Jesse thought for a heart-stopping second that she had spotted him but then he saw a gorgeous smile erupt on her face and it dawned on him that she was being introduced to these people who he surprisingly recognized!

There was that sophomore girl from Carmel, Lisa DeTamble, whom Shelby had tried to recruit to Vocal Adrenaline without success, along with her apparent boyfriend whom she was kissing passionately.

Interesting... No wonder Rachel had that look on her face. And yet, from what he had heard about her, and witnessed at Regionals, she was now with that incompetent jock by the name of Finn Hudson.

He started to walk towards her, wanting to talk to her, when she remembered what her last words to him were.

_Do it. Break it like you broke my heart_

He stopped short then. He had lost her. He couldn't talk to her now. He had lost that right when he had broken that egg on her forehead.

He stepped back, and hid in the shadows under the stairs. He watched her from there, laughing as she chatted lightly to an older boy who he did not recognize (he clenched his fists at that) and shaking hands with a girl who he didn't remember the name of. Mary or Maria or something?

He observed them all say something to her, and Rachel nodding in return. Obviously an invitation. And as they walked out the door, he followed them from a distance. He saw her pause for a moment, and turn around! Had she seen him?

He darted behind a shiny Volvo and watched peered across both windows and checked to see if she was storming over to where he was, with angry tears in her eyes. But she never came. He was disappointed at this. A part of him wished the Rachel would come. Even if he would be listening to a tirade caused by weeks of sadness and frustration, it would be wonderful to talk to her again. He missed the way that he would make her smile the way that boy was, the way her eyes used to light up when she was with him, and when he kissed her…

But he played her. Broken her heart and stomped on it with his masculine designer boots. All for a stupid show choir competition. He opened the door of his car then, and drove off towards into the city of Phoenix.

* * *

><p>Jesse woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. He had been having a vivid dream about that night a few months ago, when Ms. Sylvester had played Madonna music in the hallways of William McKinley High School and Rachel and he had been together in her bedroom, alone, and had come so close to…<p>

Well, he could never get to that part.

Not even in his freaking dreams!

He groaned in frustration and pulled himself out of bed. He needed to take his mind off of Rachel Berry!

He was Jesse St. James! He needed to be selecting song choices and figuring out ways to outshine the other artists that would be on the album that he had been waiting all year to be on!

Maybe a run would take his mind off of things.

He often ran when his was confused, a habit that he had gotten from Shelby Corcoran, ex-coach of Vocal Adrenaline, who used to make the extravagant show choir run endless laps around the track in order to strengthen their muscles that would be needed for dancing and keep their bodies in great shape. Most of the girls on the team barely pushed 115 pounds, much to the envy of several of the girls in Carmel High School. Most of the guys could easily fight off a football player on the very rare occasion that they picked a fight. He found himself running a lot more than he used to, of course he did run every day but not as far as he had started since they won the Regional Show Choir Competition.

He changed out of the clothes that he had worn to bed and changed into the clothes that he had packed for this sort of occasion.

As he stepped out of the air-conditioned lobby of the luxurious hotel he would be staying in for the next month, he breathed in the hot, dry air that was almost always the weather in this particular city.

He jogged down the street and headed towards a nearby park that looked like an ideal place to take his mind off of her.

For a few blocks he jogged at a slow pace, he passed a large group of girls that were probably shopping or sightseeing, laughing and talking while pointing at clothes through the windows of the shops that decorated the sides of the street.

He wondered against his will what Rachel was doing that morning.

And then out of nowhere… there she was! Turning the corner onto the street that he was on!

He sprinted into an alleyway on his left and peered anxiously across the street where Rachel was walking into a crowded Starbucks.

He practically dragged himself across the street, warring with himself, but he was anxious to see if he was meeting with that boy from the auditions.

He saw her standing on line, alone, and had to run around the corner quite quickly when he saw Lisa DeTamble and her friend (still can't remember her name!) strolling towards the door. Choosing not to be discovered just yet, he decided not to spy on Rachel and yet not to return to the hotel. He had to go somewhere quiet, a place where he could let his feeling go, a place to sing.

He walked arrived at the music store not 10 even minutes later. He looked through sheet music and found the song that he was looking for…

He walked over the piano and began to play…

_People say she's only in my head  
>It's Gonna take time but I'll forget<br>They Say I need to get on with my life  
>They don't realize<em>

_Is when you're dialing 6 numbers just to hang up the phone_  
><em>Driving across town just to see if she's home<em>  
><em>Waking a friend in the dead of the night<em>  
><em>Just to hear him say its gonna be alright<em>  
><em>When you're finding things to do not fall asleep<em>  
><em>Cause Know she will be there in your dreams<em>  
><em>That's when she's more than a memory<em>

_Took a match to everything she ever wrote_  
><em>Watched her words go up in smoke<em>  
><em>Tore all her pictures off the wall<em>  
><em>That ain't helping me at all<em>

_Cause when you're talking out loud but nobody's there_  
><em>You look like hell and you just don't care<em>

_Drinking more than you ever drank_  
><em>Sinking down lower than you ever sank<em>  
><em>When you find yourself falling down upon your knees<em>  
><em>Praying to god, begging him "please"<em>  
><em>that's when she's more than a memory<em>

_She's more_  
><em>She's more<em>

_Cause when you're dialing her number just hang up the phone_  
><em>Driving across town just to see if she's home<em>  
><em>Waking a friend in the dead of night<em>  
><em>Just to hear him say it's gonna be alright<em>  
><em>When you're finding things to do not to fall asleep<em>  
><em>Cause you know she's waiting in your dreams<em>  
><em>That's when she's more than a memory<em>

_People say she's only in my head_  
><em>It's Gonna take time but I'll forget<em>

By the time he was done, a small crowd that had gathered had started to clap and Jesse stood up and walked out of the shop in a better mood.

He ran around the park a few times,

Later that day, he returned to the Starbucks where he had spotted her and saw that she was no longer there. He entered after peering into the store to look out for her friends that could be anywhere in the whole city but of course he had to keep running into her, them, everywhere!

After purchasing a small coffee, he walked over to the table where she had sat and reminisced in the memories of a love that could never be…

**Hey guys! I hope you aren't mad about the length of time between the updates but I had finals and even though it's a pathetic excuse, I hope that my lovely readers will faithfully to review as some of you have : ) Do you guys think Jesse will find Rachel **_**again**_** or will I just torture you longer…. ;) I hated how the writers of Glee portrayed Jesse in the second season, the way I saw it originally was that Jesse was intelligent and brutally honest rather than a stupid, shallow, antagonist. I will write him in the way I originally perceived him to be! 2 Chapter today so the next will be up soon.**


	5. Tuesday

Rachel walked down the empty Phoenix street, anxiously peering over her shoulder towards the retreating backs of her new friends.

She contemplated calling them back, but realized that that would probably cause her to appear childish and chided herself not to be nervous about walking alone down a street in a crowded city, for she would be doing it in the future. That calmed her down a little bit. Her breathing slowed and she pretended that she was on the streets of Manhattan, walking back from a sold-out Broadway show that she had starred in. She started to hum quietly, a song she did not know the name to.

And then, she got the feeling again! Somebody was watching her! She picked up the pace and hastened down the street, and yet the corner seemed to creep farther and farther away.

She looked on the opposite side of the street and watched anxiously for signs of someone watching her or attempting to catch her gaze. She turned around; her friends had completely disappeared from sight!

She looked behind her, no one seemed to be paying attention to her. And then–

"Oof!"

She had run into someone! He was wearing a hat that covered some a lot of his face but she _had_ seen a pair of startled blue eyes right before they were whisked out of sight.

He walked past her, muttering an apology while hastily walking away from her.

"It's okay!" she called after him.

She stared at his retreating back and shook her head. She really must be paranoid!

Her mind full of her own thoughts and problems; she walked down the street and turned the corner.

* * *

><p>Jesse walked down the street that led back to his hotel after the Starbucks had closed, he had to practice the song that he had finally chosen to do on his day out.<p>

He walked down the street to his hotel and was in such a rush to get home, he knocked into none other than _Rachel_!

Was this karma or something because running into her so many times in one day was getting creepy…

She didn't see him, thankfully, and he muttered a quick 'sorry' before he practically ran away.

"Its okay!" he heard her call at him.

She had talked to him now, strange, and now he finally had the confidence to talk to her. Maybe on Tuesday, after the meeting…

* * *

><p>Two days later, the group of soaring artists returned to the Gammage Auditorium to meet up with Jackson, Jason, and Richard. Sitting in the seats of the auditorium, the artist laughed and talked quietly while the three men in charge discussed their plans at a table that had been set up on the stage.<p>

Rachel sat with her friends in one corner of the auditorium, giggling madly and telling some of her own stories. Jesse stayed on the other side, hiding behind a particularly large and loud group of Texans.

"Guys," Jason said into a microphone.

They continued to chat.

"Guys!" Jason shouted.

Some people stopped talking but Rachel and Friends were still laughing loudly.

"GUYS!" Jackson shouted, not needing a microphone.

That shut them up. Finally.

"Okay guys," Jason started. "We have less than a month to record this album considering that pretty much all of you have school in September. So we have to have our song choices ready as soon as possible and if you any ready for us, just talk to me, Jackson, or Richard. But first Jackson has a few words to get us pumped up and ready to start!"

Jackson walked up to the microphone and took a deep breath.

"So, here's what we got," he started. "We have our high school students."

The high school age teenagers cheered loudly.

"We have our college students."

The college age people cheered just as loud.

"We have our awesome band!"

The band kids cheered and some banged their drum sticks on the backs of chairs.

"We have three great producers and directors!"

Richard, in attempt to be cool, fist pumped. Earning a few giggles from the red-faced young adults in the audience.

"And this is probably the best goddamn group of performers that I have seen yet!"

Everyone cheered and clapped, delighted and motivated to perform.

Richard took the microphone and talked quickly into it.

"I need all of the high school students with Jason on the right half of the auditorium. I need all of the college students on the left half of the auditorium with Jackson. And I need the band up here with their instruments on stage with me!"

Everyone moved so that they could talk to their designated areas.

On the right half of the auditorium, the excited high school students huddled together in a group anxiously awaiting Jason's arrival.

When he finally did, Lisa grabbed Rachel's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Okay guys, so out of all of you, who has their song choices ready – don't be afraid if you don't, it's perfectly alright."

Most of the students raised their hands, including Rachel and Lisa.

"Alright, alright, so I need you guys to have them to me buy Friday, is that alright?"

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, great, so I need you guys to go practice with our piano guy, Brady, backstage. It's nothing important, but we need to be reminded that you guys are ready to be in this album."

Everyone hesitantly stood up and walked onto the stage, heading backstage.

Rachel, halfway around the band, accidently let her shoe slip off her foot and it skidded backwards.

She leaned down to reach it when a dark-haired young man holding a guitar picked it up for her.

"I think you dropped this," the stranger said, smirking.

"Thanks…" Rachel trailed off, and blushingly hurried to put it back on her foot and ran to catch up with the high school group.

He chuckled at that and returned his attention to Richard.

Rachel caught up with the group and stood closely together while listening to a man, Brady, talk to them about what was expected of them.

There were 12 of them, all together. They huddled around the piano while Brady played the warm-up music that Rachel had grown accustomed to.

* * *

><p>As the "mah-mah-mah's" and "me-me-me's" sounded in the background, Jesse sat with the college students with Jackson in the audience.<p>

"So, I assume that you have all have your song choices ready by now," he said, addressing the nervous students.

"I wanna see a show of hands now."

No one raised their hands. Although Jesse already had his song ready, he decided not to attract attention to himself out of worry that the Happy-Rachel-Friends would recognize him.

"Honestly," Jackson started. "That's pretty pathetic."

"I know for a _fact_ that at least half of the people from last year knew their songs by the first day, and I know this because I was one of them!"

The college student looked at each other nervously.

"So I need all of you to focus and….."

Jesse zoned out, Rachel was hurrying across the stage and had apparently dropped something. And of course a good-looking boy picked it up for her. And she was… blushing!

He shook his head. _No_, he thought,_ you don't care. You don't care. Just think about the music, song choices, rock and roll, just think about the music._

**Hey guys, so… sorry again for the bad updating! I know some of you may think that Jesse is sad, and, well, he is! So… does anyone think they know what song he will sing? Maybe… The Beatles? Oh! And who is this mystery boy with the guitar? I'll give you a hint! He's from Ohio and we should all know him! I also want to thank all my awesome reviewers and I really hope you like the story. If you review, I'll update even faster! I promise! :^)**


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